Son & Park Air Chou Foundation For Oily Skin

As charming as this winter is, I’ll admit to having spent some good amount of time this week dreaming of a tropical beach. I’m not gonna lie, I am ready to feel some heat on my skin and bask in the natural glow of humidity that my skin revels in during the hot summer months. What’s that? Oh, I have, like, four more months to go before that happens? Cool, cool, cool. I can totally handle it. But you guys, wait, we can totally still enjoy the benefits—yes, I said benefits—of winter beauty.

I think by now we’ve established that winter skin is hell on earth. But winter makeup? It can be dreamy, severe, fresh or goth without worrying about sweat making it slide right off your face! I especially love playing with matte looks in the winter; I know lots of people who think matte is the way to go during the summertime, but I find that heavy makeup just melts right off my face when I’m sweaty. It’s just not worth it. So I have been searching for an awesome matte foundation that doesn’t look even close to my great-grandmother’s caked-on matte, but stays in place, provides even and full coverage, can last all day long, and doesn’t grease up or irritate my skin. A lot of times, thicker or longer-wearing foundations can make my skin start to get irritated because it feels like it can’t breathe, so I need to find trusty foundation that won’t anger my face skin.

Enter Son & Park Air Chou Foundation. It comes in a lovely old fashioned compact with it’s own puff-type applicator. I just about fell over when I saw that it has SPF 40, because I worship at the alter of SPF – even during the winter. (And you should too, my pretties!) The foundation itself is light, airy, creamy, and build-able, so even though it’s matte, you can have a lighter application that has even coverage without feeling like you have makeup caked on.

It has an extremely smooth finish, so your skin looks flawlessly airbrushed. It has magical powers that makes it absorb sweat and oils, so you don’t need to be touching up throughout the day, and it doesn’t irritate my skin or clog my pores! I tried applying it with the applicator, with a foundation brush, and with my fingers to see if it made a difference. I would definitely recommend using your fingers or a foundation brush if you are looking for a lighter application, as it can be a bit difficult to control the amount of foundation on the applicator puff. That said, the puff is extremely effective in getting even coverage all over your face. I was worried it would just deposit the foundation in one blob on my cheek, but it spread super evenly and smoothly.

This guy is definitely going into my date night/wedding/cocktail party regime. It is super long-lasting, so even if you’re dancing or drinking your face off it will stay put. The foundation blends really nicely, but keep in mind that as with all matte foundations, it quickly becomes apparent if you have dry or flaky skin. So make sure that you exfoliate and moisturize a-plenty before applying your foundation. My absolute favorite part? This baby has such amazing coverage that I DIDN’T NEED TO WEAR CONCEALER ALL DAY LONG. Do you know what this means to me? I, Lourdes Avila Uribe, keeper of the worst dark under-eye circles in all the land, went concealer free for an entire day. The heavens opened and choirs of angels sang a hymn in my honor. That alone is worth the price of admission.

—Lourdes Avila Uribe

Lourdes is a freelance beauty and culture writer living in New York City. Her best friend is her dog, Maeby, and her favorite star constellation is Lyra. She listens to Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet soundtrack more than is healthy for an adult, and she will put just about anything on her face in the name of science and beauty. She writes a blog about beauty and babies calledLight in the Heart based on her love of skincare and her decades of experience as a nanny. When not busy fighting the patriarchy, she can be found wandering around, looking for food. Follow Lourdes on Instagram @lourdzilla and Twitter @lourdes_avila.